Sunday, August 30, 2009

"LOS ANGELES – A wildfire in the mountains above Los Angeles has surged in every direction, going in a single day from a modest threat to a danger to some 10,000 homes. The blaze nearly tripled in size in triple-digit heat Saturday, leaving three people burned, destroying at least three homes and forcing the evacuation of 1,000 homes and an untold number of people.

A slight drop in temperatures and an influx of fire crews from around the state were expected to bring some relief Sunday.

The flames crept down the slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains despite mild winds blowing predominantly in the other direction.

'Today what happened is what I call the perfect storm of fuels, weather, and topography coming together,' said Captain Mike Dietrich, the incident commander for the U.S. Forest Service. 'Essentially the fire burned at will; it went where it wanted to when it wanted to.'

Dietrich said he had never seen a fire grow so quickly without powerful Santa Ana winds to push it.

At least three homes deep in the Angeles National Forest were destroyed, and firefighters were searching for others, Dietrich said. Evacuation centers were set up at two high schools and an elementary school in the area.

The fire is the largest and most dangerous of several burning around southern and central California and in Yosemite National Park."

I can't see the sky today. There's smoke everywhere. I'm shakin' in my boots a li'l...

Wanna see something amazing? Here is the contrast on my back between my burn and my normal flesh color.It's getting better every day though. It's to the itchy scratchy stage now. Lesson learned: wear sunscreen.

These fires are scaring me.They're a little too close for comfort.They're visible and smellable from miles away.I dragged Chris and Allie up the hill for a long ways to try and get a better view of the fires, but we gave up and turned around. This is the best I've got.But the real and more important point of this post. It was Chris' White Coat Ceremony tonight. Basically it's just a welcome to USC, congrats, you're a Trojan now, "fight on!" We all exclaimed out loud as we were walking to the building: that's a whole lotta bikes. It's how the majority of students get from point A to point B.This is Tommy Trojan. I don't know the background story or anything, I'm sure Chris does. I'm sure Google does too.Here are all the students in their fresh white coats, reading the oath.There's my Chris!He's such a goofball.We met another young LDS couple living in Pasadena: Ryan and Melissa. Good times are sure to come.Congrats again Chris. Love you!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

I'm so behind reading my Google Reader blog list. But next week I'll have all the time in the world so I plan to get all caught up then. If I read your blog, expect a comment soon :)

I woke up this morning to the fresh smell of burning bush. I hear it's one of the four seasons of California. The others are like earthquakes, mudslides, and something else. LOL.After we dropped Chris off at USC, Allie, Jay, and I headed to Huntington Beach.The USA Surfing Championship was going down. How serendipitous. Not that I surf or anything, it was just fun to watch especially since I forgot a book to read.From 11 year old girls to men in their 50's, it was amazing to see what these people can do on a board in the water. The Ruby's Diner at the end of the pier is so random. Why Ruby's? I mean, it's good food and all, but the one I usually go to at Redmond Town Center isn't something to write home about. I'd think it would be like a, like a, I don't even know. Some really expensive and hoity toity restaurant. Then again, maybe this Ruby's is really expensive and hoity toity.Here's Allie having the time of her life. She actually did have a good time, despite the expression on her face here.I got burned. Real bad. Like 2nd degree burned. I thought I had a pretty good base and could last five hours in the sun. Not so much. I'm a flippin' lobster. You could probably cut me up and eat me. But please don't.Not even the sweatshirt could save me. Bring on the aloe vera.Allie and I went and saw The Time Traveler's Wife. I cried the entire second half of the movie. 9 out of 10. I loves it.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

I stayed in my pajamas until 2pm because I was running around unpacking and putting things together and didn't have time to change. We're down to the nitty gritty now. 95% percent of the boxes have been opened, emptied, flattened, and thrown away. It's great to actually feel like I'm in an apartment instead of a post-tornado disaster scene.

Since neither Allie or I had eaten breakfast or lunch we were starving so we went with Jay to go pay a utility bill deposit then find some grub. As we were driving around South Pas and Pasadena, I got really excited. There are some neat places that I'm so looking forward to visit! I saw some cute cupcake shops, a Cheesecake Factory (I've never eaten at one), museums, the Rose Bowl, good places to go shopping, etc. This is such a good feeling to be wanting to find out more about where I live.

Before we could find someplace to eat, Chris called and said he was ready to be picked up from USC. We dropped Jay off at home then Allie and I got some linner (lunch/dinner) from the one and only In-N-Out. They've got good shakes. And fries. And burgers. And their concoction of 7UP was delish.It took a half hour to drive 10 miles. Not tooooo bad.I know I'm almost home when I spot this liquor store. We live directly across the street from it. It's flashy and bright at night. There's a median in the middle of the street so we can't turn left, but once I see this liquor store, I know it's time to make a U-turn. I just think it's funny and slightly ironic.Slowly but surely our apartment is becoming our home. We purchased a refrigerator and dishwasher yesterday and we were told they'd be delivered today between 3 and 6pm. They arrived at 5:59pm. Ha.Then we went over to another first year USC dental couple's house for dinner with another first year USC dental couple. Meet my new friends, Veronica and Brian and their baby Moriah, and Kate and Peahrson (I'm sure I butchered the spelling...alls I know is there's a silent "h" in there somewhere...sorry!) We had the most amazing home-cooked meal. Thank you so so so much Veronica. I literally have not eaten a home-cooked meal since our hobo dinner last Wednesday night when we went camping. We have eaten out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a week. Not good for the body or the wallet. I'm so happy we have a fridge now. I need my daily bowl of cereal.I finished the night by scrapbooking! Oh how I've missed thee. Can't share what I made. It's for the AC Studio blog. But supposedly it'll be up on the 31st so hold your horses til then.Tomorrow, we're going to the beach. All. Day. Long. I need some R&R from unpacking. And a tan.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

I didn't take one single picture on Sunday. Too much going on. Our apartment isn't picture ready yet, but it's getting there. It's just as cute as I remember. I should be unpacking instead of blogging, but I've been having blogging withdrawals and now that we have the internet I'm back in business.

I still can't believe I live in California. I don't know where anything is. If I didn't have a map, I'd get lost in 30 seconds flat. There are so many pros and cons about living here I could write a whole book about it. I'll probably do a post about it instead. I'm just trying to take it all in one day at a time. This is a big change for me and I'm not sure what the best way to handle it is. I'd like to sit in a corner and cry 24/7. I'd also like to be out on the beach and exploring 24/7. It's a strange dichotomy.

Today I had fun being a tourist in my own state. First, Jay, Allie and I headed to Chinatown. If anything, it made for some cool pictures!Chris and I were both born in the year of the Ox. This summary of the Ox is so true it's scary. Especially the part about being quick tempered and stubborn, creative with their hands, and how Ox year people should seek their fortune as surgeons, DENTISTS, mechanics, etc....eerie!Neat palm trees. I just can't get enough.Neat graffiti. I can get enough.Hello LA!Then we went to the Santa Monica Pier. If anything, it made for some cool pictures. :)I got me a $2.00 bean burrito. Normally they're like 89 cents. Don't even get me started on how expensive California is. I might throw up. (Big Fat Con.)I thought this building with bright flowers was pretty.We had some time to kill before we picked Chris up so we went window shopping on the Promenade. I hope I'm saying that right... Anthropolgie just about killed me this time. I wanted every single thing I set my eyes on. Especially this pillow.And oh my goodness, if my ship ever comes in I'm re-doing my entire house in this color scheme: chartreuse yellow, black, marine, orange, and neutral creams. I would have gotten the comforter, had it been about $300 cheaper...Just a fun and funky shot in the Steve Madden store.Then we picked up my Christopher from USC! Go Trojans!Here is the dental school. I'm just so proud of Chris I could burst.K. I've been blogging for like four hours now. Time for bed.

I'm from Seattle. Chris is from Denver. We met when we were 18 at BYU and got married in 2007 in the Nauvoo, IL temple. Chris graduated from the USC School of Dentistry in 2013 - the Army paid for it and now we owe them 4 years of dental service. We are stationed in Grafenwöhr, Germanyfor 2 more years and we LOVE to travel all around Europe! I stay at home with our son Fox (4.5) and daughter Jane (3). Scrapbooking is my passion! I'm on the Design Team for American Crafts, a Contributing Team Member for Studio Calico, a Digital Creative Team Member for Ali Edwards, a Blog Contributor for Elle's Studio, a blogger for Scrapbook Expo: The Weekly Scrapper, a teacher at Big Picture Classes, a teacher at Craftsy, and I have an Etsy Shop on the side. I love to teach scrapbooking and bookbinding workshops all over the world. We love life and can't wait to see what tomorrow bring!